| If I were Prez |
[Oct. 17th, 2006|04:16 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  contemplative | ] |
If I were Prez
some of the things i would push for if i were President
Budget Deficits
well first thing i would do in the case of a budget deficit is suspend the pay/benefits of all elected officials, most of these pricks are already rich, why should they continue to get paid for spending more money then they have. Second, taxes would be raised to make up the deficit, no politician likes to raise taxes for the people who vote for them (which is why republicans want to cut taxes for the rich and democrats want to cut taxes on the poor,a sure way to make sure a politician keeps a tight reign on how much they spend is to make sure that the voters that put em into office PAY for their spending)
Taxation
this is simple... a FLAT tax rate..15% sounds good to me, no deductions, no loopholes, corporations and individuals pay the same rate based on income, the only tax break a company or corporation would get is for wages paid to a US citizen (as the government would receive its 15% from the individual)
Foreign Policy/Trade/Military
Oh this is a good one... 50% tariff on all goods imported from companies that are based in countries that do not have a freely elected democratic government, no tariffs at all on countries with freely elected governments. since we are the largest consumer in the world, what better way to spread democracy and freedom then with our pocket books? if that seems too harsh, steal a page from Tom Clancy, and just mirror the import practices a country uses on US goods for goods coming from that country.
When it comes to our Military and the use of military force outside of our country, be prepared for a rant, this subject is very important to me.. First off, mandatory service, EVERYONE should have to serve in someway, somehow, an no, they should not get to choose, they should serve where they are needed. Second, this "preemptive strike" thing our government currently uses is BULLSHIT, its the same excuse Hitler used in WWII..If I were president, I would never ever ever use force against a country unless attacked by agents of that country first (then I would obliterate them, pure and simple) Third, to send our troops into combat without the best possible (not the most affordable) weapon systems is a crime against the people of this country that borders on out and out treason.
How to win(or at least have a chance to win) in IRAQ
this is a touchy subject, there is so much bullshit floating around out there concerning this, its impossible to make a statement and come out smelling like a rose, but here goes anyways.
First off, it was a mistake to invade Iraq, period. that being said, should we just pull out, hell no!, that would be a bigger mistake. do i think we should fire the idiots who got us into this mess? damn right! every single stinkin one of em. What we need to do (and this is where it gets ugly) we need to send another 300-400 THOUSAND troops to Iraq (and yes, I know, this would involve a draft, see "mandatory service" above) and we use those troops to secure the borders of Iraq, seal em off, and blast the bejeezus out of ANYONE crossing said borders unless it is at a designated border crossing. Once the borders are secure (this is the hard part cuz we can't even secure our OWN borders but hell, doesn't matter as I will never be pres anyways) we then work our way into the interior. Once we get the country reasonable secure, we then ask the PEOPLE of Iraq what kind of government they want, we help set it up, an we GET THE FUCK OUT!.. should be able to leave 2-3 years tops ( an I bet all those neocons would be all for leavin all that oil behind if it were THEIR kids bleedin for it)
Politics/Elections
Whoo Hoo! here we go.. first off.. Term limits..yep, all for em, 12 years max, period, that means 6 terms in the house, 2 terms in the senate, an 3 terms as president. Second, campaign finance reform.. 100.00 max donation from any and all entities, be they individuals, corporations, unions, or PACS.. Lobbyists banned from meeting politicians unless in the politicians office under recorded sessions.
Third, banning all indications of party affiliation from all ballots. Fourth, electronic voting with a verifiable paper record, the machine records your vote, shows you your vote on the paper record and spits out a personal receipt that you can verify that your vote has been correctly recorded. Career Politicians, big money, Lobbyists, political parties, and lack of confidence in the election have done more to destroy democracy in this country then communism, fascism, and the threat of terrorism will ever do.
On the same topic but in the "could never happen even tho it sure would be fun" category, how about, we do away with ALL term limits, but we kill the losers of all elections...AND ( here is my favorite part) put None Of The Above on all ballots, and if None Of The Above wins, we kill em all an start again. would be a good way to ensure that politicians were A: serious about doing the job they were elected to do, B: eliminate that pesky "lesser of two evils" thing that we seem to be stuck with election after election
Minimum Wage/Unions/Labor/Healthcare
okay, how come, if we are the worlds leader in all things great, do we have to work the most hours, have the lowest standard of living, the highest infant mortality rate and the largest percentage of poor people of all the industrialized nations? The Answer is simple.. Greed and those who cater to the greediest of us. first, Minimum Wage, i'd raise it to 7.50/hr and then tie it to the pay congress gets, they get a 4% raise, minimum wage goes up 4%, seems only fair, the poor git workin at McDonalds is more productive in a 8 hour day then a congressperson is in 2 years... Unions, well, its simple, ANYONE should be able to join a union, and unions should be able to use collective bargaining.. but when it comes to strikes, all strikes should be allowed, and all employers should feel free to fire said strikers.. having a judge or the president stopping a strike is un democratic, un free market, and anti competitive business (plus the fact that slavery went out in the 1860's) and being forced to work against your will is slavery, even if you are getting "paid" for it. Healthcare, okay this is something that is also very near and dear to me, I'm married to an ER nurse, I am a cancer survivor, and I have done the "no health insurance" route. so here is my solution... universal health insurance, 5% of your income is automatically put into the Universal Health Insurance Plan, its not mandatory that you USE the plan, but it is mandatory that you pay into it. Our health care system is on the verge of collapse, the nations ERs are bein hammered by the influx of people without health insurance with whom the ER is their ONLY source of medical treatment, Health insurance costs are outta this world, between us and my wifes employer, health insurance for the 3 of us is over 15,000.00 a year and that is more then your average McDonalds employee makes in a year, if you go with a private plan, you are talkin prolly over 20k. there is a reason that we are now approaching 50% of the population uninsured, employers and employees just can't afford it. what good is having the most advanced medical system in the world if only a few rich people can use it? One thing i have found recently is there are alot of folks who HATE the idea of a universal health plan.. UNTIL they find themselves SANS insurance do to cost or be coming unemployed or their employer dropped the plan because of cost, and they watch themselves or a loved one suffer or die because they couldn't get into a Dr because they didn't have any money or the ER they went to was so overwhelmed by all the other people without insurance that they couldn't get the proper care. My wife's ER has 14 rooms, on an average night, the rooms are all full, the hallway is full of stretchers and the waiting room is full, and these aren't people comin in with a cold, these are people with heart attacks, strokes, GI bleeds ect ect, these are sick people! however, how much of this is preventable? i mean if these people had insurance, and were able to see a Dr in time to PREVENT the heart attack/stroke/whatever, they wouldn't be in a hallway in a vastly understaffed ER?
and folks, this is not just limited to the hospital that my wife works at, this is a nationwide phenomenon.
just some other things i would fix
A constitutional amendment banning government recognition of marriage, gay or otherwise, marriage is religious, let the churches decide who they are willing to marry, the government would only recognize a civil union between 2 consensenting adults, get government out of religion and religion out of government.
a constitutional amendment banning the confiscation of land for private use, I can see the government taking land to build a school or road, but to build a hotel or sport stadium is just plain bullshit
a 100 billion dollar prize (petty change to the way this government spends money) to the persons or group that solves the cold fusion problem, provided they make such knowledge public domain.
support drilling in ANWR and along the coast, but not by oil companies, by the government, and ALL profits go to the government, it's federal land, let the feds make the cash an use the money to find viable alternatives to petroleum to help make us energy self sufficient, not give it to some oil company so they can give some asswipe a 500 million dollar retirement.
complete internet neutrality.. nuff said
drug legalization.. first keeping drugs illegal does NOTHING to stop or slow the use of illegal drugs, just like prohibition didn't work with booze. plus whatever happened to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? if some idiot wants to fry their brain on drugs so be it. put illegal drugs into the same category as booze and tobacco, make selling/providing such substances to minors at felony punishable my a minimum of 20years, collect taxes on the drugs, do not allow "drug addiction" or "being under the influence" to be a mitigating circumstance for crimes committed while intoxicated or going thru withdrawl. With Rights comes Responsibilities. (note: in Holland where drugs are legal, they have the lowest use rate among any of the industrial nations, and a far lower crime rate}
decriminalized failed suicide, suicide is NOT a crime, only failing to be successful is, why, i have no idea, but that it is. if someone no longer wishes to live, who can we justify forcing them to continue to do so? please? someone? anyone tell me what right anyone has to force someone ELSE to keep living? if someone fails in an attempt at suicide, i say we give em a choice, help in the form of counseling, or help in the form of being successful in their desire to die.. putting em in jail is just fucking stupid.
life sentences/death penalty
okay, this has got to be the most fucked up thing i have ever heard of, so of course i have a solution...
first off, we do away with life sentences, if you did something so bad, that you can never be let out, its just a waste of good air to keep you alive. second, after a person is sentenced to death, they will sit in prison 20 years and given any and all opportunities to prove their innocence. killing someone is something to never be taken lightly, and you want to make sure you are killin the right person, you can't correct a mistake if they are dead. also, sentences need to be based on the offense, not the circumstances. if a person is convicted of 1srt degree murder, then the penalty should be the same whether the person is male or female, rich or poor, white or black.
and another thing? why is it that a prosecutor, who is not supposed to be interested in "winning or losing" but in "justice" will do anything possible to prevent evidence proving innocence from being entered into court? I mean we all get bent outta shape when a criminal defense attorney tries to debunk DNA evidence that proves his client guilty, but we always seem to look the other way when a prosecutor tries to debunk DNA evidence that proves a person innocent? now i may be off base here, but i think the "state" or the "people" (being represented by the prosecutor) would be more interested in The Truth, then the win/loss ratio of criminal cases brought to trial. (personal theory.. because prosecutors are lawyers, and we all know that lawyers don't give a rats ass about "truth" and are far more interested in "looking good" and since most politicians are also lawyers, also explains why our government is so screwed up)
Lobbyists
okay, i have nothing against Lobbyists (alright, thats a lie) but i do have a way to stop this influence peddling that is going on in government, as mentioned above by preventing anyone from donating more the 100.00 per year to any one candidate, also, let Lobbyists have the same access us regular folks get with our politicians.. email, snailmail, voicemail.. I have contacted my congressperson several times, never once have i gotten to speak with her, i get a canned email response from my emails, i get a staffer, or i get a form letter (could this be because i haven't given her a hundred grand? hmmm i wonder)
gun control
now THIS is gonna piss off EVERYONE...
I believe in a waiting period and full criminal background checks to be allowed to own a firearm (yes i know i just pissed off the NRA) but, if said person has passed the background check, and is proven to be a law abiding citizen, they should be able to purchase/possess/carry any firearm that is allowed to be used by police...
lets face it, the only way to ensure a free society is to have an armed society. one thing all totalitarian governments have in common, they disarmed the people they were repressing.
now i am all for banning assault weapons, automatic weapons, pistols who have more then 13 rounds in a clip and .50 caliber sniper rifles. okay, not really, but i would be more willing to accept the idea if the ban applied to my local/state/federal police force as well. the only thing that keeps a government from becoming a dictatorship is fear of an popular uprising. will this cause a big rise in crime, well lets look at other examples.. take switzerland for example, crime is very rare there and almost every house has an assault rifle capable of fully automatic fire..why because every sane male without a criminal record is required to be a member of the state militia...if you use the rationale that the gun control people use, everyone should be dead in switzerland but they aren't. and not only that, but home invasion is not really a problem there either, criminals are pretty much a cowardly lot, and they aren't willing to take the chance of breaking into a house that is probally occupied by someone with the ability to go "rock and roll" on their ass and have the training to do so.
if i have not covered something that you think i should have, please let me know, because its almost certain i have an opinion on it
The Rev |
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